Cooler days help fire crews

Friday

Aug 28, 2009 at 11:15 AM

Overcast skies and marine air will bring cooler weather to Southern Oregon for the next few days and help firefighters who have been working on two fires in wilderness areas of Northern California's Klamath National Forest.

Overcast skies and marine air will bring cooler weather to Southern Oregon for the next few days and help firefighters who have been working on two fires in wilderness areas of Northern California's Klamath National Forest.

Forecasters are expecting weekend temperatures in the mid-80s around Medford, with a 20 percent chance of showers today and tonight. Highs in the 90s could return by Monday.

Firefighters now have contained about 75 percent of the 1,277-acre Red Rock fire, which is burning in the Marble Mountain Wilderness west of Mount Shasta.

Temperatures have cooled significantly from Thursday and humidity has increased in the fire area. Firefighters will take advantage of better weather to finish containment lines and mop up hot spots inside the burned area, said Forest Service spokesman Tom Lavagnino in a media release.

The Harrington fire in the Siskiyou Wilderness is now about 80 percent contained. Fire bosses have reduced their estimate of the burned area to 142 acres with better maps of the fire area.